Grinnell College assistant professor of English and Iowa Writers’ Workshop grad Santiago Jose Sanchez will read from their debut novel, Hombrecito. They will be joined in conversation by novelist Claire Lombardo.

Hombrecito is a queer coming-of-age story about a young immigrant’s complex relationships with his mother and his motherland. “Hombrecito is a gorgeous novel of the in-between, the waiting lull, and the changing mind, that shows Santiago Jose Sanchez to be a brilliant poet of silence...

Why is it that some narrators feel real to us — as if they were sitting across the table, telling us their story? And why do we feel so utterly compelled to listen to them?

The sense of a narrator’s deeply individual presence starts with what we like to call voice, the linguistic expression of character. Voice is why your mother can call you up on the phone and start talking without ever stopping to identify herself. You know it’s her because of her voice. Voice is the feeling of the person...

Mark your calendar for our 100-Word Microstory Contest — a free online writing competition for a variety of age groups. You don’t have to be an Iowa Writers’ Workshop grad — or even have participated in a flash writing contest before — to join in the fun. Just create a story in 100 words or less that uses one of two specific writing prompts. We will announce the writing prompts here on Monday, July 15, 2024, at 9 a.m. CDT.

Iowa Writers' Workshop alum Melissa Mogollon will read from her coming of age comedy, Oye: A Novel. “Funny and smart, Oye grapples with the messy inheritance of intergenerational trauma and how it manifests in the everyday conversations with the people we love. Mogollon has written a beautiful book.”—Claire Jimenez  “Heartbreaking and humorous, mature and mischievous, Oye feels like home in delicious and furious ways. Melissa Mogollon did not come to play.”—Kiley Reid

Melissa Mogollon holds an...